Increasing access to voluntary family planning and STI services for young people. The youth voucher program in Madagascar.

In 2013 with support from USAID and UNFPA in response to high rates of pregnancy early marriage and low contraceptive use amongst 15-19 year olds in Madagascar Marie Stopes Madagascar (MSM) piloted a youth voucher program to reach this group. Young people identified by MSM’s Community Health Educators (CHEs) received a free voucher redeemable at a BlueStar social franchisee for a package of voluntary FP and sexually transmitted infection (STI) information and services. MSM’s youth voucher program has revealed a high demand for voluntary FP services amongst 15-19 year olds and MSM has since integrated the youth voucher beyond the initial pilot locations. MSM’s experience indicates that youth vouchers are a novel and effective means of increasing young people’s access to voluntary FP services in Madagascar and this model could potentially be replicated in other contexts where financial barriers to access are a major factor preventing young people from accessing services. (excerpt)